I still think that the Duchess received more of the substantial peices, yet doesn't really wear them, and probably never looked to expand her collection like MChristine. Besides the 2 tiaras and the riverie the rest of the BIG peices MC has are semiprecious or rice pearls and combos which are made in a very chic way.
BTW I did read a rumour that the Michaels have sold all the diamonds from the jewells and replaced them with high quality CZ's. Is there any truth to it?

I heard that same rumour, too. Prince Michael got really upset when he heard it and talked about how even if wanted to sell those jewels he couldn't because they were in some sort of trust for his children. I may be wrong, I'll have to look some stuff up.

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__________________Janet

"We make a living by what we do; we make a life by what we give" Winston Churchill

HRH Princess Marina, The Duchess of Kent wearing the London Fringe tiara she received as a wedding gift, those gorgeous girandale diamond earrings, two large rivieres, and that bow brooch that was sold! She looks fantastic.

__________________Janet

"We make a living by what we do; we make a life by what we give" Winston Churchill

Queen Mary was always on the hunt for bibelots and jewels - when she visited someone, they made sure that their treasures were kept out of sight. If Mary saw something in their home which she liked - like a Faberge piece - she would have her lady-in-waiting remark quietly to the host that the Queen liked such-and-such and that it would make a nice parting gift. What was the host to do?
And when Russian emigres - including Russian royalty - flooded into London at the outbreak of the Revolution, Mary would offer a pittance for their jewels which they had smuggled out. They were desperate for cash and so sold her their jewels. Mary got some beautiful jewelry this way.

Also, Princess Michael has made sure never to wear any of the Duchess of Windsor's gifts of jewelry around Queen Elizabeth II

And, I have a feeling that upon the death of the Duke of Kent, that the title will revert back to the crown and his son will remain Earl of St. Andrews

I read in what I believe was Hugo Vickers' bio of Queen Mary that when she went to relatives houses or something that if she saw something of royal providence that had left the family or something she would ask for it back in the manner you described. I must look it up!

On another note, over half of these links don't work! We should collectively begin adding new links. Who has pics?

__________________Janet

"We make a living by what we do; we make a life by what we give" Winston Churchill

Actually, it was shown later by researching the Royal Archives that Queen Mary actually overpaid for many of the Russian jewels she acquired from Grand Duchesses Xenia and Olga. The value of these jewels in the market had dramatically declined due to the huge amount of pieces being sold by the Russian emigres as well as the new Soviet Government to raise currency.

The Cambridge sapphire parure was a wedding gift to Princess Marina from Queen Mary when she married The Duke of Kent. After her death, The Duke sold many of the pieces because they needed cash for death duties and many of the designs were too ornate for Katharine to wear practically.

Princess Michael wears jewels that are technically "on loan" from The Duke. All of Marina's jewels passed to her eldest son, as is the tradition in the peerage and royal family. She cannot sell or otherwise dispose of them without his permission.

The Duchess of Windsor was very generous to Marie-Christine and gave her some very valuable jewels in 1978-79, as well as a few pieces in her will. These included a set of emerald cabochon drop earrings, a ruby cherry brooch with matching earrings, a diamond ring, a sapphire and diamond bracelet and a matching ring/earrings. She was told by The Queen's lady-in-waiting not to wear these jewels in the presence of The Queen Mother or The Queen.

Prince Michael and Princess Alexandra own all of the jewels in their possession, not the Duke of Kent. I wrote a letter to Kensington Palace years ago regarding the issue of Princess Michael's jewels and whether they belonged to the Queen or to her (I had just started being interested in the Royals and didn't know how these things worked). I received a very nice letter back which stated that the jewels were the personal property of Prince Michael inherited by him from his mother.

And, I have a feeling that upon the death of the Duke of Kent, that the title will revert back to the crown and his son will remain Earl of St. Andrews

What is the evidence for this?

Back to the jewels...

Freiin von Reibnitz and her husband are very traditional royals. I doubt there is any truth to the rumours of them replacing items of historic family value with fakes. Marie-Christine is deeply proud of history, so whether one likes her personality or not, understand that the jewels of royal provenence are probably quite safe with her.

The Duchess of Kent has shown a distaste for royal pretentions, therefore it makes quite of bit of sense that wearing large jewellery and conserving collections of it falls farther down her list of importance than Marie-Christine's. She did (originally) have posession of the beautiful Sapphire tiara and a convertable aquamarine one in addition to the fringe of her own. And Marina may have had some idea of the respective tastes of her daughters-in-law. Knowing that it would mean more to Marie-Christine to have the tiaras Marina cared for most might have had some influence.

A previous poster asked to see pics of some of the jewels Princess M is reported to have received from the Duchess of Windsor so I have posted three examples below. They are, ruby and diamond cluster earrings; large cabochon emerald earrings set on diamond mounts and a ruby, diamond and emerald "cherries" brooch. It's difficult to get confirmation about these things but I have read reports over the years about all three being true and certainly I have seen pics (in a documentary years ago) of Wallis Simpson actually wearing the "Cherries Brooch" as it is known so that one is a definate. Enjoy!

Marie-Christine also received a diamond ring, sapphire & diamond earrings, and a sapphire & diamond bracelet from The Duchess. Princess Alexandra and The Duchess of Kent were also left some pieces in her will, although exactly which ones remains a mystery.

The Duchess was very fond of Marina's children and their father was beloved by The Duke. She remembered them in honour of her husband and to acknowledge the kindness and support Marina gave to her and The Duke in the 60's.